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Discharge Instructions for Colostomy

You just underwent a procedure that required a colostomy. This procedure involves removing or disconnecting part of your colon (large intestine). If your large intestine was diseased, your doctor may have removed it. If it was injured, your doctor may have disconnected it for a short time so that it can heal. After it heals, your doctor may reconnect it. During a colostomy formation, your doctor reroutes your colon through your abdominal wall. Stool and mucus can then pass out of your body through this opening, called a stoma. The following are general guidelines for home care following a colostomy. Your doctor and nurse will go over any information that is specific to your condition.

Home Care

Call Your Doctor

Call your doctor immediately if you have any of the following:

Excessive bleeding from your stoma

Blood in your stool

Stool that is very hard

No gas or stool

Change in the color of your stoma

Bulging skin around your stoma

A stoma that looks like it’s getting longer

Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or chills

Redness, swelling, bleeding, or drainage from your incision

Constipation

Diarrhea

Nausea or vomiting

Increased pain in the belly or around the stoma

Take care of your stoma as directed. Your doctor and ostomy nurse discussed how to do this with you before you left the hospital.

Ask your doctor or ostomy nurse for a patient education sheet about colostomy care before you leave the hospital. This will help remind you how to care for yourself.